Milnerton High School's bullying culture exposed by Parliament's oversight committee
Portfolio Committee on Basic Education chairperson Joy Maimela said they’ve engaged with the schools, district, and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on what actions are in place to ensure that such an “horrific incident” never happens again.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media
The Chairpersons of Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees have revealed a troubling culture of bullying at Milnerton High School following their visit last week.
The visit follows the assault of a 16-year-old grade 10 pupil by several other boys, in a video that subsequently went viral.
During the media briefing on Monday, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Joy Maimela, said bullying undermines the safety, dignity, and mental health of many learners.
“Education cannot thrive in an environment of fear, and a learner who feels unsafe cannot learn while a teacher who fears discipline cannot teach effectively.”
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences & Creative Industries, Makhi Feni, said that their view is that the incident at the school “is a continuation of racist acts that continue in our schools, especially in those schools that were regarded as Model C schools”.
“We know the instances in Pretoria high schools and now this one, we are urging the department here in the Western Cape, because if nothing is taken to address this, we are fearing an uncontrollable situation in our country,” Feni said.
A still from the viral video that has prompted a police investigation and public outcry over bullying at Milnerton High School.
Image: Screengrab / Facebook
Maimela said they’ve engaged with the schools, district, and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on what actions are in place to ensure that such an “horrific incident” never happens again.
“What we have noted is that a majority of our schools do not have a comprehensive anti-bullying policy. What they do have is a code of conduct which just touches on the issue, but it is not a comprehensive policy.
Chairpersons of Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees briefed the media on various oversight priorities in the basic and higher education sectors.
Image: Parliament RSA/Supplied
Maimela said that their oversight will continue to ensure that safety measures are enforced. She added that they were concerned by the lack of psycho-social support that was made available following the Milnerton incident.
“We learned while we were there that the learners and their parents had not received adequate psycho-social support. The WCED said that they did, but we then learned that it was not adequate psycho-social support, and that might be due to the fact that one social worker is attached to 30 schools.
Maimela explained that they were given an assurance a disciplinary hearing had been held on Saturday, and that the province and the district would send them a full report on the outcomes of that hearing.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Joy Maimela, said bullying undermines the safety, dignity, and mental health of too many learners.
Image: Parliament RSA/Supplied
After that hearing, whatever the sanctions and the decision made by the school’s disciplinary committee, will still have to be taken to the district and the province for final approval as per the South African Schools Act.
“They continued to threaten and bully that learner even after the parent had reported it to the school management. Overall, we also noted that there was a culture of bullying in the school, and to a certain extent, there is a coach of a certain rugby team who we believe also enables such.
“There was a previous incident reported to the school, and the school could not account for what they did with it,” Maimela said.